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Page 1
Mac Fields News Macquarie Fields High School
April 2010
2 Harold Street, Macquarie Fields NSW 2564 Phone 9605 3111 [email protected]
Issue 9 – Term 4 December 2017
Calendar Events
Week 1 – Term 1 2018
Monday January 29 School Development Day – Staff Only Tuesday January 30 Year 7 Students start Wednesday January 31 Year 8-12 students return
PARENTS PLEASE NOTE
Students absent from school
Please note changes to School Attendance Policy. Where a student is absent from school, a note explaining the absence must be received by the school within 7 school days. Where a note is not received the absence will be recorded as unjustified. This cannot legally be changed should a note be received after 7 days. Absences both justified and unjustified are recorded on school reports.
Recipient’s of PBL Raffle Prize Draw
NAME Year Wk/Term PRIZE Spencer Standish 9 Wk8/T4 $30 Macarthur
Square gift card
Safwan Hossain 9 Wk9/T4 $30 Macarthur Square gift card
Kial Hinchcliffe 8 Wk10/T4 $30 Macarthur Square gift card
From the Principal As the academic year draws to a close, I would
like to take this opportunity to wish all members
of our school community a very happy Christmas
and a prosperous new year! I would also like to
recognise the hard work of our amazing staff as
well as that of our students, whose
achievements we recognised at our recent
Semester Awards ceremony and our
Presentation Day last Monday. We have some
very dedicated students!
Orientation Day for Year 7, 2018
On 5 December, we welcomed our incoming
Year 7 students who will be joining us in 2018. It
was a very successful day, with a very full
program of events for both students and parents
but it was designed to give those new to our
school an authentic taste of life at Macquarie
Fields HS. I would like to thank Year Advisor , Ms
Samantha Bell and the Assistant, Ms Chanel
Wano for their attention to detail in planning the
day and their care and concern for their new
charges. I would also like to thank the HT
Welfare, Mrs Imelda Judge for her support of the
Year Advisors and the orientation process.
Back to School 2018
School development Day 2018 for staff only will
be held on Monday 29 January 2018. Year 7
students will commence on Tuesday 30 January
with the rest of the students returning
Wednesday 31 January.
Page 2
December 2017
Issue 9 - Term 4 October 2014
School Reports
Reports for Years 7 – 10 were issued on
Thursday 154 December. Please discuss the
report with your child and contact the school
early in the new school year should you have any
concerns about your child’s progress.
Staff Changes for 2018
As is usual this time of the year, we have some
changes to our staffing and sadly, we say
farewell to some of our team. Mrs Gai Lees has
been on extended leave prior to retirement and
she has advised that she will officially retire on
the final school day this year. Mrs Louise Heath
from our office has also been on leave and she is
also retiring and likewise, Mrs Leanne Grech,
our longstanding Learning and Support Officer
will also be retiring at the end of the week. I wish
all of these dedicated staff members a long and
happy retirement and all the best from Macquarie
Fields HS!
Miss Marinda Barnes from the Social Science
Faculty was successful in gaining a position as
HT Wellbeing at Mt Annan HS for 2018. Mrs
Amanda Langley from the CAPA Faculty is
taking up a position at Ingleburn HS and Mrs Kim
Colley from the office has accepted a transfer to
Elizabeth Macarthur HS. On behalf of the school,
I wish these staff members all the best in their
new roles.
Finally, it is with a tinge of sadness that I advise
that our longstanding Deputy Principal, Mr Mark
Tishler has decided to retire from the NSW
Department of Education after 37 years. This is a
significant change for MFHS, with Mr Tishler
being at the school since 2002. Mr Tishler will
return for the first 2 weeks of the new school year
and finish up on 9 February. Mrs Heather Costa
will remain in the Relieving DP role until the
position is filled.
Looking ahead to 2018
We have another busy year ahead of us in 2018!
Next year marks the start of a new 3 year plan
and we have made some innovative changes to
curriculum, the timetable structure and sport.
As always we are looking to enhance the
opportunities we have on offer for our students
whilst maintaining our relentless focus on
teaching and learning, underpinned by ongoing
professional learning for staff to ensure we have
expert teachers teaching your children.
I have included in this newsletter, a copy of the
letter sent home with the reports which outlines
the major changes. It is shaping up to be a very
exciting year ahead!
Once again, I wish you all the very best for the
festive season and look forward to all that 2018
brings us!
Mrs J Dolstra
Principal
Page 3
December 2017
Issue 9 - Term 4 October 2014
Technological and Applied Studies
Showcase
The Technological and Applied Studies faculty
takes the basic principles of Science and
Mathematics and makes them relevant to
students through Technological and Engineering
applications. The following are some examples of
how Mrs Fernando has been doing this with her
classes.
The Year 10 Food Technology class catered a
High Tea function for a small group of staff. All of
the food was created by the students as a
practical assessment for the unit "Food Service
and Catering".
The response from the staff was all positive, with
students receiving praise for their preparation,
presentation, and service. The students
performed very professionally under the
guidance of their teacher, Mrs Fernando.
In Year 8, the students in the Creative Enterprise
course have created and made themed
cupcakes suitable to sell in a café.
Page 4
December 2017
Issue 9 - Term 4 October 2014
During Semester Two, Mrs Fernando’s Year 7
Technology (Mandatory) Textile class designed
and made cushions for their bedroom as their
final project. The creativity displayed by the
students is excellent, as is the quality of their
work. These are currently on display in the
library.
Well done to all of the students involved. Mrs
Fernando is extremely proud of what everyone
has achieved.
Mr G Byrne
Head Teacher TAS
Page 5
December 2017
Issue 9 - Term 4 October 2014
Immunisations 2018
To all Parents please note the Public Health Unit
has informed the school of our 2018
Immunisation schedule for Year 7, 8, 10 and 11
students.
Varicella vaccine will not be offered to our
students in 2018, the catch up ends at the end of
2017.
The 2018 Year 7 program will be HPV (Gardasil)
and will be a 2 dose course with Diphtheria,
Tetanus and Pertussis (Boostrix) provided at visit
1 and at visit 3 HPV (Gardasil) only. Any missed
vaccinations will be made up at each visit.
First dose will be held on Thursday 15 March
2018 for Year 7 students for the Human
Papillomavirus (HPV) and
Diptheria/Tetanus/Pertussis (Whooping Cough)
(dTpa).
Second dose will be held on Thursday 8
November 2018 for Year 7 students for the
Human Papillomavirus (HPV).
At each visit Year 8 students who started their
immunisations in Year 7 2017 at Macquarie
Fields High School who missed there
immunisation will be offered the opportunity to
complete/catch up there immunisations.
Year 10 and 11 students will be offered
Meningococcal (ACWY) vaccine. This will is
booked for Wednesday 20 June 2018.
Students in Year 7, 10 and 11 will be issued with
consent forms and these will be required to be
returned to the school by Friday 16 February
2018.
A letter from the Department of Health is also
included to further explain the change in the
reduction of immunisations for the HPV from 3
injections to 2.
Ms V Shipley, Immunisation Coordinator
MFHS Owning the Moment at the 2017
Schools Spectacular
Schools Spectacular is an annual celebration of
the creative and performing arts in NSW Public
Schools. All 5500 performers are students, and
this year, Macquarie Fields HS was represented
by Sebastian Kelly-Toiava from Year 12 as a
featured vocalist, 17 members of the school
vocal ensemble were part of the massed choir,
and our Teacher Librarian, Miss Hannaford built
the 6 giant dragon puppets and the dragon egg
for the segment “Fantastical Moments
The journey to Schools Spectacular starts early
in the year for the performers. Each year, our
vocal ensemble submits an audition video
showcasing their diverse choral repertoire. Once
our ensemble was selected to be part of the
2700 strong choir, the ensemble participated in
weekly rehearsals of the 24 songs in 5 different
languages.
MFHS Vocal Ensemble outside Qudos Bank Arena
Page 6
December 2017
Issue 9 - Term 4 October 2014
As the spectacular became closer, the entire
choir was brought together for combined
rehearsals at the Salvation Army Chapel in
Sydney, then Netball Central at Olympic Park
before finally moving into Qudos Bank Arena the
week of Schools Spectacular. The Schools
Spectacular choir is comprised of both primary
school and high school students. Performing as
part of the choir at Schools Spectacular is not
just singing, but the performers are also required
to do choir choreography.
Miss Hannaford’s journey to Schools Spectacular
started in June when her puppetry colleague Kay
Yasugi was asked to build 6 giant dragon
puppets and a giant hatching Dragon Egg for
Schools Spectacular. It took 5 months to build
the 6 dragons out of cane and fabric.
The largest dragon, “Big Mumma”, was 20
metres long with a wing span of 10 metres, the
medium dragons “Ginger” and “Fred” were 6
meters long with a 3m wingspan, and the 3
smallest triplet dragons, called “Stuart”, “Kevin”
and “Bob” were 1.5m long with a 1m wingspan.
The dragon egg was made in two halves and
covered in 166 scales. This year was the first
time that there was a specific drama segment as
part of the Schools Spectacular.
Miss Hannaford’s role backstage was to repair
and prepare the dragon puppets for each show
but also be on constant standby should the
puppets be needed for rehearsals including the
pyrotechnic rehearsal. The pyrotechnic rehearsal
was the scariest, because real flames were
coming very close to the students and the
The 2700 member choir performing Dies Irae by Mozart in the stands and on the arena floor
The Choir performing choreography during the opening number.
The small amount of space backstage for storing the puppets between shows.
Page 7
December 2017
Issue 9 - Term 4 October 2014
puppets! There is very little room backstage in
the tunnel that surrounds the arena to store the
puppets and work on them when repairs were
required. Being prepared with the puppets was
very important backstage as the students who
performed the dragons, only had a few minutes
to actually pick up their puppet and walk it to their
assigned entrances in Tunnels 1 and 4 (either
side of the stage).
The days at Schools Spectacular are really long
for our students and teachers. Our school’s
Friday show day started at 6:45am at Glenfield
station and we did not get back to Glenfield
station until 12:45am on the Saturday, only to do
another 2 show day on the Saturday, starting at
10am, getting home at 12:30am on Sunday
morning.
Schools Spectacular has been an incredible
professional learning opportunity for Mrs
Davidson and Miss Hannaford and an
opportunity to showcase the wonderful talents of
the students at Macquarie Fields High School.
The 2017 Schools Spectacular will be broadcast
on Channel 7 on December 16 at 7pm.
Mrs Davidson & Miss Hannaford
Miss Hannaford with the Dragon Egg
Miss Hannaford with 4 of the Dragon Puppets and the student puppeteers.
Page 8
December 2017
Issue 9 - Term 4 October 2014
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December 2017
Issue 9 - Term 4 October 2014
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December 2017
Issue 9 - Term 4 October 2014